United is extending everyone’s current elite status through January 31, 2021 and extending club memberships by 6 months as well as extending PlusPoints upgrades by 6 months that were set to expire through January 31, 2021.
They are also dropping requirements to earn status by 50%.
On Sunday I wrote that American Airlines was operating more flights out of Newark airport than United Airlines. That seemed insane, considering United’s major hub at the airport. With the coronavirus crisis limiting air travel generally, and the New York area the current epicenter of fighting the virus in the United States, continuing to operate even 15 flights from Newark hardly seemed to make sense for American.
It seems the Dallas-based carrier realizes this, and has pulled down its schedule from the three major U.S. airports to just 13 flights in total from April 7 through May 6.
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Delta was first out of the gate to extend current member elite status through January 2022.
United clearly had a status extension plan in the can, ready to go, and was just waiting to see if another airline forced their hand – because within hours, on a Sunday afternoon, United’s MileagePlus is also announcing a status extension.
While other hotels are closing, with no transient business, Swiss luxury hotel brand Le Bijou is setting up “quarantine apartments” based on what they’re learning about guests needs – in-room meals and COVID-19 testing, a private gym, access to medical care.
Le Bijou’s CEO says he noticed a drop off in three night bookings, but green shoots in the form of 14-day stays. He learned these were guests quarantining from the SARS-CoV-2 virus. And he realized there was an opportunity to stay in business by meeting guest needs. Some people are appalled.
The U.S. government is requiring airlines to follow the law and refund customers whose flights are cancelled and the International Air Transport Association is complaining.
Airlines are on the verge of being partially nationalized it shouldn’t come as any surprise they’re already viewing customers like taxpayers.
Everyone pauses in place and gets a do-over. That’s the message from Delta which announced an extension of elite status, club memberships, vouchers and more.
There’s a natural reason why Delta is first among U.S. airlines to do this – and an advantage they have in rollover qualifying miles that better positions them to still take advantage of their elite program when travel comes back.
For ‘at least’ the next three weeks United will operate a reduced schedule with only 17 flights from the New York area, including 15 from Newark. Today American Airlines is scheduled to operate more flights from Newark than United.
In a huge about-face, the CDC is recommending that Americans wear masks when out in public. They want to preserve N95 respirator masks for health care workers who have the greatest exposure to COVID-19, but believe that the general public wearing lesser masks can help stop the spread.
If you’re a frequent traveler you probably have face masks. In fact you may have a bunch of them in a closet without even realizing it.
One hundred and thirty five Holland America cruise ship passengers were turned away by United Airlines on Friday night after cabin crew refused to work a flight to Sydney if they were allowed on board.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
